We all know that coffee elicits an epic morning response. It's what gets us out of bed in the morning. And with Millennials drinking more coffee than just about anyone on the planet, you had to figure that would bring some changes to the coffee industry.It has, and in more ways than one.
While the Millennials have definitely upped the ante on coffee drinking, coffee has now become a science project. I believe that's a result of Millennial coffee habits. For example, coffee companies can no longer just offer a good quality cup of coffee.
The Millennials have raised that coffee bar, too. Coffee now must be gourmet with different notes and flavors, like wine.
Brazilian researcher, Emilia Ricardi, conducted a study to try and create an emotion-based lexicon of our responses to drinking coffee. She was inspired by the SCAA Flavor wheel. By using emotion-based words like:
- awake
- happy
- pleased
- satisfied
- sociable
- guilty
- angry
and so on. She wants to better describe our habits surrounding coffee consumption. I have no idea why this is so important, even if the Millennials have upped the coffee game. But, apparently, it's a thing.
I digress.
Coffee Testing for Emotional Response
In Ricardi's study, she had 7 coffee samples from leading brands and producers. These included coffees classified as traditional, superior, and gourmet. She created a quantitative descriptive analysis to describe the coffees, such as earthy, mellow, nutty, less complex and even, sour.
You can read in depth about Ricardi's coffee study here. And you can read the Kansas State University coffee study that sparked Ricardi's interest here.
The long and the short of her study was this. There were 3 different coffee-drinking groups:
- Those that preferred strong-tasting cups
- Those that preferred light to medium roasts
- Those that enjoyed many different types of coffee
The coffee volunteers for this study described their feeling toward drinking coffee as stimulated, satisfied, fine, warmed up, awake, and full of beans. (Not sure how to take that last one).
Those that preferred gourmet coffee were not older than 29, which was 80% of the group.
Coffee Shops are Also Influencing Coffee Preferences
So if the Millennials are upping the ante on coffee preferences, new coffee shops are too.
"We can say that...new coffee shops (are) influencing the taste and habits of this generation, making younger people prefer superior or gourmet coffees," Ricardi says.
For those older generations, "traditional" coffee is still preferred. Why? Again, it's tied to a feeling. It reminds them of the days when their mothers and grandmothers made coffee on the wood stove. Nostalgia.
It may sound funny to think of coffee as an emotionally driven drink, but aren't all beverages the same way?
For the younger generations, the drive for higher quality coffee beans will continue to fuel today's coffee consumption. No surprise there.
What's surprising to me is how much coffee has evolved into more than just a cup of Joe. It's attained a cult status all its own. Does that seem strange to anyone besides me?
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